Taksim: If You Have to Walk, Do Not Go

Nov 03, 2009 09:34pm ( Istanbul )

İ went to see another part of İstanbul today called Taksim. The lost days due to rain (and me being allergic to it) has made me decide to spend all of my time in İstanbul. There´s plenty here to see and do so it´s not a total loss.

Anyhow, back to Taksim; İ rode the metro across the bridge into the northern part of the city to Kabataş, another one of their many neighborhoods. From there İ was told that İ could take another tram to Taksim which is at the top of a hill. This hill is really more of a small mountain, and İ know this because İ couldn´t find the tram and İ walked from Kabataş to Taksim. They were easily the steepest streets İ´ve ever had the mısfortune to walk.

There is supposed to be shopping and restaurants worth visiting, and maybe İ was a little upset already from the strenuous hike, but İ didn´t see anything worthwhile there. The sun was getting ready to set, İ had to find my way back to the tram, and İ knew how far İ still had to walk so İ was not a happy camper.

On a side note, it is really hard to find a place to use the toilet (or water closet - WC, as it´s referred to here) as most places to eat don´t have one. İ´ve only seen three gas statıons here and they don´t have them either. There are sporadic public restrooms, but only in tourist areas and they are very hard to find. İ only found out tonight from Angelo that all mosques have public restrooms. The point is that İ was really uncomfortable for quite some time until İ could get back to the guesthouse.

Once İ was feeling better, İ ran out to get something to eat (chicken soup, rice , and Efes beer). On the way back I grabbed two beers at the market to share with Angelo. This time İ tried Efes Dark and it was a little too strong for me - having a heavy chocolate-like taste.

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PS. İ was supposed to be able to upload more photos and even videos, but that feature isn´t working. İ swear it was working before İ left home. Sorry, but you only get one photo per posting and no videos...until İ get home.